morse



(No Model.)

- E. MORSE & F. H. CHARTER.

SAFE.

No. 259,415. Patented June 13, 1882.

Fig?.

Ury-TTB@ STaTns PaTENT @Taten ENOOH B. MORSE, OF SOMERVILLE, vAND FRANK H. CHARTER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,415, dated June 13, 1882.

Application filed November 9, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ENocn It. Monsn, residing at Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, and FRANK H. CHARTER, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State aforesaid, both citizens of the United States, have invented an Improvement in Safes; and we hereby deelare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a perspective view ot a safe having its outer door provided with a cavity, in which is located the handle of the spindle, which is turned in throwing the locking bolt or bolts, an auxiliary door for closing said cavity and concealing the said handle being represented swung open. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section, representing the auxiliary door closed over said handle. Fig. 3 represents the handle of the locking-spindle and the dial, both located in one and the same cavity, covered by a single auxiliary door.

The location of the knob or handle of the bolt-throwing spindle is the sole and special object of our invention, which consists in an outer safe-door provided with a cavity, within which is sunk the knob or handle of the said spindle, said cavity being closed by an auxiliary door, forming a part of and hinged or otherwise connected with the outer plate of the outer door, which thus presents a continuous smooth exterior, the auxiliary door being locked by a key carried by the Icustodian of the safe when it is desired to protect and conceal the knob or handle of said spindle from view, in which position the danger of its being tampered with, as well as the liability of its being struck or injured in transportation and by falling from its place in the event of re, incident to such knobs or handles projecting from the outside of the safe-door, is thereby avoided.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use our invention, we will proceed to describe the manner in which we have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents a safe, within the door B of which is formed a cavity or recess, a', for the reception of the handle b ot' the spindle o, which must be turned or rotatod in throwing forward or back the lockingbolts l in the operation of locking or unlockl ing the safe-door. To the outer plate of this door B is hinged at e an auxiliary door, 7L, of a form and size adapted to fit into or over the cavity a, the outer surface of this auxiliary door It, when closed, lying iiush with the exterior of the safe-door B, thereby preventing the handle of the bolt-locking spindle c from being seen. This auxiliary door h is provided with a lock and key, the latter being carried by the party in charge of the safe.

t is the graduated dial, the shaft of which is connected indirectly (by certain disks and levers) with the locking-bolts, controlling their movements and liberating or arresting them to allow of unlocking the safe-door when the bolt-throwing handle is turned, or to prevent the unlocking of the same, as desired. The location of this dial forms no part of the subject-matter of this invention; but it is preferably sunk within a cavity in the outer door, as set forth in Letters Patent of the United States No. 235,208, being concealed from view, when desired, by an auxiliary door locked thereover.

When the safe is in use and constant access thereto required, should the custodian thereof wish to be temporarily absent, it is only necessary for him to close the safe-door B, turn the handle b of the lockingspindle c sufficiently to throw the bolts d forward, and then close and lock the auxiliary door 7L with its key, which he removes and carries with him, thus obviating the breaking up of the combination of the dial projected on the outside of the door, or of concealing the dial, if sunk therein, the safe being securely locked, as the handle b is inaccessible, a reliable day-lock 7 being thus afforded.

It is evident that the handle b of the bolt throwing spindle o and the dial e' of the combinationdockmayboth belocatedin one andthe same cavity, provided with a single auxiliary door 7L. Furthermore, our invention may be applied to safes not provided' with dial-locks, but to those locked by an ordinary key, termed key-lock safes.

IOC

If desired, the cavity inthe outer door (within which the handle ofthe bolt-throwing spindie is located) may be closed by a sliding cover moving in dovetail grooves formed in the sides of the cavity; or said cavity may be closed by a rotating disk or segmental plate pivoted to the outer door, and moving within the plane of and flush with its outer face.

fhen a safe is designed for constant use, and both the dial and the handle of the boltthrowing spindle project outside the safe-door and are exposed to view, it has been customary to provide an inner as well as an outer door, the former being locked every time the person in charge left the safe. Besides the expense of this inner door it was also objectionable where a safe occupied a position in which its outer door could not be swung back sufficiently to allow of the inner door being opened far enough to gain proper access to the contents, the drawers coming into contact with the hinges of the inner door. The necessity ot' this inner door was overcome by the construction described in said Patent of the United States No. 235,208; but as the handle of the bolt-throwing spindle was not concealed from view, and therefore accessible, the sunken and concealed dial referred to in said patent had to be partially rotated after throwing the boltwork forward, in order that one of the tumblers might dog77 the same before the auxiliary door was closed and locked over the dial. By the application of our invention, however, the inner door is not only dispensed with, but the rotation of the dial, as well as the breaking of ENOCH R. MORSE. FRANK H. CHARTER.

Witnesses:

l?. M. BOND, HARRY NV. SMrrH. 

